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Old September 17, 2013, 09:33 PM   #1
tauruspt92
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Looking for input on my next reloading table

I am a draftsman and so I ended up drawing a reloading table up at work. i am trying to see what experience reloaders think. I only have five feet of space. I made it so that the harbor freight storage bins could fit on the back wall giving me more then twenty bins. Also space under the top self for a florescent light. on the right side of the table where you see the funnel shape is for sorting my brass from the tumbling media there will be a screen to allow the walnut shell to fall thru but the brass to stay. A bag under the funnel will catch the media. Also there is a section of table that will fold down to cover the funnel.
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Old September 18, 2013, 10:18 AM   #2
McShooty
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Since you have limited bench length at 5 ft, I don't think you should use any of it for screening tumbled brass. You can buy a bucket and a sieve for that and let it sit on the floor or the lower shelf. You need room on the bench for powder dispensing and for a good scale. Also, I think your press will take up more room than you alot in the drawing. I like to have a foot of free space on each side of the press for loading blocks, hand tools, etc., that accumulate as you load a certain batch.

A good, space-saving practice is to mount a powder measure or a case trimmer to a small board and then use a clamp to secure it to the main bench when in use.

Another thought is, where will you keep your powder and primers? Maybe on a shelf beneath the main bench level?

I see this is your first post. Welcome and good luck!
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Old September 18, 2013, 01:22 PM   #3
Tom68
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Looking for input on my next reloading table

I would also make the recommendation that you not include sifting media into the design of your bench, for several reasons. First, and others may differ, is that separating media for me is such a minuscule portion of the overall reloading process... I would not want that much space dedicated to a process that is so infrequently used, and for such a short period of time. Second, I do my sifting outdoors just to add a measure of safety from lead. I don't wear a respirator when I sift, or even a mask... But I do attempt to not inhale the dust and I certainly don't want that dust inside my house. My tumbler and bucket sifter stays out on the carport.

I do like the 5' length, though...that will come in handy. I built mine 4x3, and it's really a foot deeper than I need but not long enough. Also a good idea on the light... I hung a fluorescent fixture above my bench and I would be absolutely lost without it.

As far as modularity... Reference previous post which recommended clamping powder measure and such when its needed: this is a great idea as well, dependent on your needs. If you are a one-caliber guy who has one process and never deviates, you may find that the tools get clamped and then never move. Most of us are more diversified, though, and can appreciate the flexibility of not having tools permanently bolted to your bench. I bolted my powder measure stand to a sturdy 12x12" piece of 1" pine, and simply set the whole thing on a nearby shelf when not in use. One added benefit is that I can tip the whole measure upside down to pour remaining powder back into its original container.

Just a few thoughts and opinions....


Tom
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Old September 18, 2013, 01:26 PM   #4
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You do it your way,but here are some thoughts.

Over time,helping to build some benches for other folks,There is a lot to be said for running a pair of 2x12 s from floor to ceiling,and cantilevering another foot of width in front of those,for a total of a 24 in wide bench .

You have no legs or shelves obstructing feet/knees for that 12 in closest to you,but you have sound vertical structure for creative shelving floor to ceiling.


I make the bench height tall enough for no "hunching",the action at the dies is well within my field of good vision.I sit on a tall stool so going from sitting to standing is effortless.

I use large liquid laundry detergent jugs to cut into brass management jugs.
Cut most of the top out,but leave the handle intact.

On either side of my press,under the bench,I screw in the large bicycle hanging hooks you can get at the lumberyard,vinyl coated,lag screw threads..

I set these up so the laundry soap jugs hang under the bench .I drop my hand down to these jugs to hold my brass in the before and after operation state.You do still want an optimal space to set loading blocks on either side of the press.

The "tool plate" idea is a good one.I suggest a piece of cold rolled steel about 6 0r 8 in wide,1/2 in or thicker,and drill and tap 1/2 13 holes in it in a standard hole pattern,two holes will hold down anything,

Make aluminum plates to attach to your press or whatever,and bolt this to the steel plate attached to the bench.This idea is commercially available.

For myself,I get spoiled by having two presses mounted side by side with a powder measure between.

You might get a progressive press some day,or you might decide to take up casting bullets...

So,I think of it as an ergo friendly work station,with the bench space almost like the table on a Bridgeport mill,you can bolt on whatever setup you need at the moment.

Think about a case trimmer.End of the bench may workOne way or another,you will need to trim cases sometimes.

One of those 20 in or so long draftsman's flexible fluorescent lights is great over a bench.

Like I said,do it your way.These are just some ideas to kick around.
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Old September 18, 2013, 02:13 PM   #5
kilimanjaro
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Five feet of bench is just about enough for the press, scale, a few trays for primers, brass, bullets, completed rounds, the calipers, trimmer, swager, tools, the reloading manual and your log book.

I keep the brass tumblers out in the shop, and deal with all of that out there. That leaves plenty of room on the bench and I can work the bench while the tumblers tumble away out of sight and sound.

If you have some wall space, do put up as much cabinetry as you can, you will need it for components. I'm using almost 40 lineal feet of shelf space and don't have that much to put away.
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Old September 18, 2013, 04:27 PM   #6
BigD_in_FL
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Didn't see where you intend for your scale to go????

Mine, when it was outside, was 8' long made from a full Gorilla Rack unit set up as two 4' sections set side by side. I then used a stock 8' kitchen counter top that was reinforced underneath with a double layer of 3/4" marine grade plywood that was glued and screwed. As mentioned above, this gave me knee space to sit and load. The top unit was screwed to the base and when set in place the backsplash was lag bolted to wall studs. I could stand on the overhang, and at 260# it never flexed. 8' gave me room for several presses -both metallic and shotgun - and room on either side to work. Shelves were added above the bench, but separate. That way bench vibrations did not interfere with the scale sitting on one of the shelves. Those were simply made with the slotted metal runners and brackets and 1X6 pine boards. The Formica top was easy to keep clean.
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Old September 18, 2013, 05:21 PM   #7
Nick_C_S
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I wish I had a pic to show, but I'm at work. My loading bench is 4'x2", or thereabouts. It's small, but in spite of my youth and ignorance at the time (1984 - not quite 22 years old), I somehow managed a rather efficient design.

The biggest difference from what you have is that my press is on the long end - right hand side. My powder hopper is roughly where your press is (a little closer toward the center though). I have holes to mount my case trimmer - but I only have it mounted in the winter, because that's one of those "off season" kinda things to do.

My scale (balance scale) is in a box on the lower level - I bring it out only when I'm using it (delicate instruments of any kind should always be put away when not in use). I keep my dies on the lower shelf, along with some of my more often used lead bullets (148g WC's, 200g LSWC's) - that sort of thing.

My more expensive stuff (jacketed bullets), primers, n powder, are all stored in a room inside the house. Brass is stored on a series of shelves above where the bench resides.

Wish I had pics because I think my set up is very similar to what you're aiming for.
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Old September 18, 2013, 05:34 PM   #8
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One item that I have found I can’t live without is a small shop vac. This is the one that I mounted on the inside leg of my bench. One gallon container is small and keeps all the crap off the bench.

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/shop...FVNo7AodiSQAqA
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Old September 18, 2013, 06:01 PM   #9
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Well played Ozzieman. I have a hand-me-down vacuum from the house, after we got a new one. Works great for the application.
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Old September 18, 2013, 06:09 PM   #10
hgmeyer
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All of my presses are mounted on wood baseplates made from 2X8 - 13 1/4". The 2X8 is mounted (screwed and glued) to 13" 2X2 on each long edge. There are two holes 11/16" 4" apart in the center line with the first one 1" from the back edge. There are three positions on my bench (YMMV) that are "T" nuts mounted underneath the top so that each press can be mounted to any of the three sets of holes. I can also mount shotshell presses, powder measures or any other tool onto the bench as needed. BTW I have a small cookie sheet with holes drilled through it so that a shotshell press is mounted onto the cookie sheet to catch the inevitable spilled shot or spilled powder.
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Old September 19, 2013, 08:39 AM   #11
Rimfire5
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You have a lot of good ideas in your plan.

But with your lack of space available, the media strainer isn't practical.
I recommend you use that space for a scale and powder dispenser, a trimmer, and a case preparation station that you will use far more often than a media sifter.

I tumble my brass for at least an hour in a Franklin Armory tumbler and then sift it in their spinner mounted in their bucket for about 2 minutes. The media goes into a bucket as it spins and then gets put back into the tumbler after the brass is empty. I figure you are wasting two steps in the process because the one pour funnel approach will leave some media in the brass. I find that sifting media from brass requires shaking the media out of the brass, not just pouring the brass into a funnel and letting the media drop through a sieve.
You also will have a lot of extra lifting and moving media an brass to get it up to the table and then from the bag back to your tumbler. I keep the tumbling process close to the floor so I minimize the lifting and spillage.

The idea is novel and innovative, but cleaning brass isn't the part of the process that needs bench space.
I would concentrate bench space on the parts of the reloading process that require precise measurement and repeatable reloading steps.

You'll spend most of your time at the bench weighing powder precisely, sizing clean cases in the press, measuring cases, trimming cases that had necks stretch in sizing, deburring case mouths inside and out, measuring powder charges with the scale, charging case with powder, seating bullets in the press, and measuring OAL to be sure you're getting repeatable results.

I notice you are planning for a single stage press. Great idea for rifles that you want to shoot accurately. Accuracy requires extra measurement.
I measure every round I load at least 4 times and the first round of a set 6 times to be sure the set up is correct - 1) case length after sizing, 2) case length after trimming, 3) powder charge when dispensing powder, 4) OAL when I check the first seated round from the press, 5) case base to bullet ogive for the first round from the press, 6) case base to bullet ogive for every case thereafter.
Those are the functions that you need to dedicate bench space to performing efficiently and accurately. Everything else is nice for convenience to stuff that can be moved on or around the bench but doesn't have to be done on the bench.

With your severe space limitations, you probably need to focus on the placement of the things that will have to be firmly attached and have space to operate (press and trimmer) or need to be level and stable (scale/dispenser). The case prep station can be put anywhere you can get access to the top (e.g., RCBS Trim-mate) of the front (front operated stations). You'll need space for at least one case holder tray and space for the box or tray you'll be putting loaded rounds into.

If you load as much as I do (18,000 rounds in 3 years in 7 rifle calibers and 5 pistol calibers), you'll need a small amount of space for keeping notes to put in the loaded round box on what powder, bullet weight, seating depth and projected velocity for the different loads.

I do all of that while the tumbler is running on the floor in the corner cleaning the next caliber of brass. No need to have the brass cleaning process keep me from the real work in accurate reloading.
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Old September 19, 2013, 08:42 AM   #12
tauruspt92
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Thank you to everyone who replied I took most of you point my powder drop is mounted to the top shelf left side I use the lee autodisk and my scale is a small electronic scale when I load 9mm and a lee balance scale when I load 300 savage which is very rare. also i store the powder inside my house same thing with all the ammo and the reloading bench is in a shed outside the house

Nick_C_S im not much older than you but right now my reloading area is a couple shelf in my closet and a 2 foot x 2 foot space on top of my gun safe.

but after all the comments i have made some more changes thank you
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Old September 19, 2013, 09:35 AM   #13
TATER
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That is just like my setup, other then I have five top Shelves spaced at 10" with the very first at eye level for scale.
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Old September 19, 2013, 10:01 AM   #14
schmellba99
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Get rid of the media separator - that can be done in any number of other places and doesn't need to take up any of your bench space.

Like another poster mentioned - I have T nuts mounted on the underside of my bench and all of my equipment is mounted on baseplates. This allows me to put whatever combination of equipment I need or want on the bench at any given time (trimmer, swager, shotgun presses, single stage presses, vice, etc.) and then remove it when I don't need or want it. I use some all threaded rod cut to length with some plastic knobs I got from McFeely's to secure the equipment to the bench.

I have 4 stations, but in retrospect I wish I would have drilled a few more holes and patterned it so that I had better use of the bench. Lesson learned on that one.

Make certain you want to sit or stand when you determine bench height. I like to sit, so my bench is lower.

The shop vac idea is nails. Make sure you have power available. And you can never have enough storage space.







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Old September 19, 2013, 04:35 PM   #15
kln4
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Those are some nice benches. I just don't have that kind of room in the basement, I have to share reloading with my wood shop, I build wood cabinets, tables, chairs, and about anything else my better half wants.
For a reloading bench I found, (in someones trash) a 3'x5'x2" laminated solid oak top. I made the legs and added to 4 table saw casters. When I setup for reloading I roll the bench to the other room, bolt the presses and powder throw to the bench and roll it back in to the shop. It's heavy and cheap but it works. (I lock the 4 caster down and it doesn't move.)
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Old October 4, 2013, 12:13 PM   #16
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Old October 4, 2013, 12:38 PM   #17
jepp2
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I know you are limited to 5 feet in length. A good starting point when looking at features is the NRMA loading bench link

I built one following their plans in the mid 80's. It has survived several moves and the ability to take the top off has enabled me to move it into basements with 32" doors. Just something to consider.

Features I really like are how solidly built it is. The flexibility of adjusting shelves meets changing needs. What you need today can be markedly different than what you need next year.

Two things I would do differently if building it today. I would make it 8 feet long instead of 6. I would also spend the extra money to go with birch veneer plywood for 3/4" plywood.

You have the ability to design exactly what you need from a features standpoint. Just more ideas for you to consider.
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